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“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” — George Mason of Virginia In April of 1775, the British Royal Military Governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, sent 800 British Army Regulars, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, on a preemptive raid to seize guns from American patriots at Lexington and Concord.

During the first six decades of the eighteenth century, the American colonies were mostly allowed to govern themselves. In exchange, they loyally fought for Great Britain in imperial wars against the French and Spanish. But in 1763, after the British and Americans won the French and Indian War, King George III began working to eliminate American self-government. The succeeding years saw a series of political crises provoked by the king and parliament. What turned the political dispute into a war was arms confiscation at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775.

On April 19, 1775, seventy-eight-year-old Captain Samuel Whittemore crouched behind a stone wall next to his home. Whittemore’s old fingers tightly gripped his musket and his pistol. A sword hung from his belt. A phalanx of Redcoats looted homes as they retreated back to Boston. The senior Patriot, who had resisted tyranny and the rule of the Crown for years, planned to fight to the death to defend his home.When the British troops approached, he blasted away, slaying two Redcoats and wounding or killing a third with his sword. The Redcoats then unleashed their fury on Whittemore, shooting him in...

The teaching of history has become a flashpoint in the culture wars. But while the battle is fierce, it’s not new. An earlier round in the conflict in the 1920s — over the teaching of the American Revolution — indicates that it will be crucial for historians to weigh in loudly and forcefully during the current debate. That will give them the space to continue to teach the most accurate, up-to-date version of U.S. History and prevent forces that fundamentally don’t understand the job of historians from shaping what American children learn about the past. In the late 19th century,...

The Life of Frederick William Von Steuben: Major General in the Revolutionary Army - tells the story of Baron Steuben, who had been an officer in the Prussian army. Considered one of the fathers of the United States Army, he had a leading role in improving the Continental Army during the American Revolution and turning them into a professional fighting force. https://librivox.org/the-life-of-frederick-william-von-steuben-by-friedrich-kapp/

The Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party, The Battles at Lexington and Concord Dramatic narration and authentically recreated scenes, enhanced with an original score, chronicles the settlement of the American Colonies, the formation of colonial governments, and the tension that resulted from the economic strain on Great Britain for its prosecution of the Seven Years War with France. It illustrates how Great Britain’s attempt to make the American colonies pay for its debts, among other issues, brought about the revolt. British Parliament's passage of The Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, the Tea Act, and the Intolerable Acts, and the effects...

On the morning of March 15, 1781, British General Charles Lord Cornwallis's force of 2,100 men discovered the Americans holding a defensible position on elevated ground about one and a half miles from the Guilford Courthouse near present day Greensboro, North Carolina.

On the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, it is worth remembering how America passed its first major test in equal application of the law.It was March 5, 1770. Future President of the United States John Adams was enjoying a local Boston social gathering when the town bells began to ring. Townsmen often rang these bells in case of fire. However, the guests hurried out onto the cobbled streets to discover a different sort of blaze: British soldiers, surrounded by an indignant and pressing mob, had discharged their muskets, hitting 11 civilians. Three died on site. Two more followed in the...

“The commander in chief expressed ‘disapprobation of such disorderly proceedings’ (ad hoc mass meeting of officers) as the illegally called meeting. He summoned a meeting of his own for the following Saturday, March 15, 1783. This was probably the most important single gathering ever held in the United States. Supposing, as seemed only too possible, Washington should fail to prevent military intervention in civil government?

He was the greatest American. Don't settle for less.“First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen. He was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life; pious, just, humane, temperate and sincere; uniform, dignified and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting.“To his equals he was condescending; to his inferiors kind; and to the dear object of his affections exemplarily tender: Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always felt his fostering hand; the purity of his...

Could find nothing in the media to note the anniversay.

CNN — The National Archives in Washington, DC, closed early on Wednesday after two people dumped red powder on the display that protects the US Constitution, Archives officials said in a news release. “The Constitution was unaffected in its encasement. No damage was done to the document itself,” the Archives said in a statement. The individuals were immediately detained by security at the time of the incident, around 2:30 p.m., and officials are investigating, the Archives said

Climate Protesters Arrested after Throwing Pink Powder on U.S. Constitution in Museum Two climate activists were arrested on Wednesday after they poured a pink powder on a case holding the U.S. Constitution. The two protesters were caught on camera in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, claiming their act was to raise awareness for climate change. In a video posted on X, one of the activists can be heard saying: “This country is founded on the conditions that all men are created equally.” “We are calling for all people to have all these rights, not just wealthy white men.”...

The National Archives Rotunda and galleries in Washington, DC, closed to the public today after two individuals dumped red powder on the encasement protecting the U.S. Constitution at approximately 2:30 pm. They were immediately detained by security personnel. Officials are investigating the incident.

A 200-year-old painting of George Washington was stolen from a Colorado storage unit in January.. The Englewood Police Department (EPD) received a call Jan. 22 about the theft of the “historical painting” from a storage facility, but they believe the theft occurred two weeks earlier on Jan 10 ... “The painting is of our first president, George Washington, and was created in the early 1800s... The approximate size of the piece is 24 inches by 30 inches, measured in a gold-colored frame. The value is undisclosed and hard to estimate due to its historical significance,” ... Police told the outlet...

The man known to history as Thomas Jefferson was born on the 13th of April 1743 at his 0:09 father’s estate of Shadwell in Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 0:16 His father Peter Jefferson was a surveyor and planter who owned several plantations 0:21 in Virginia, including the tobacco plantation of Shadwell which he founded in the 1730s, 0:27 worked by slaves and free labourers. At the time Virginia was one of the thirteen British colonies in North America, but in 0:35 just over three decades it would become one of the leading states behind the creation 0:40...

On the morning of October 19, 1781, General Charles Cornwallis was ashamed of himself. Equestrian Washington The prior week had begun with General Cornwallis finding himself – along with his 8000 British, Loyalist American, and Hessian troops – hemmed in at Yorktown. He had consciously settled in there that spring, erecting fortifications, seemingly declaring the site permanently “British-held ground.” But gradually, things went against him. The American Commander in Chief, General George Washington, and French General Rochambeau moved in with their American and French troops… The great British Navy under Admiral Thomas Graves was unable to offer support, as French...

A digital sonar image of a different vessel on the floor of the York River. Shipwreck may date to 1781 siege YORK — Two years ago a sonar company in Gloucester was testing equipment in the York River when the crew hit the jackpot: an uncharted shipwreck on the river bottom. “That was quite a surprise,” said David Hazzard, an archaeologist with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The area where the ship was found is well-documented. There have previously been nine documented shipwrecks in the York River associated with the Revolutionary War and the Siege at Yorktown. Seven ships...

A replica of an 18th century French warship has set sail from France for the United States.

On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating founded The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. Within three years of its founding, that promotion took place through public lectures, a high school, a library, public exhibitions, and a research journal, and many of these endeavors remain core activities to this day... For the organization's first century, the Institute offered classes in mechanics, drafting, and engineering, and promoted science and invention. In 1930, despite the Great Depression, The Franklin Institute and the Poor Richard Club began to seek funds to...